This site was created as a place for me to
publish articles and pictures about the things I enjoy in life. At the
moment I live in two places, a home outside of Chicago and an apartment in
Beijing. Sometimes it can be very difficult, and sometimes its very
rewarding. I hope this site is something that people will find interesting
and useful especially if you are planning on living in Beijing.

As the site develops I hope to bring the focus more towards my main
interests, woodworking, brewing and bicycling. Starting in 2012 I began to put
together the materials to assemble a 1 barrel (29 gallon/110 liter) all electric
brewery. Because my home in China is an apartment on the 25th floor it is safer
to utilize electricity instead of gas. The brewery is controlled using
either my laptop or iPad and gives excellent results. Over the last three
years when I am in China I try to meet with as many food and beverage people as
possible, learning what works best in China and developing a network of friends
I hope to keep for a long time.

I design and fabricate
contemporary furniture and guitars using all types of hardwoods. Primarily I use
reclaimed North American hardwoods such as cherry, maple, walnut etc. I also
enjoy using some South American exotic woods. I find that I am influenced
strongly by Shaker traditions, but I enjoy all styles of furniture design.
Presently I reside in Beijing for about half the year and Chicago for the other
half so my time in the shop is limited to the summer months.

I started my first business, Mindspear Technologies
in 1995 shortly after the release of the Mosaic browser. I was doing software
sales and had slowly migrated over to the development side. I have worked on
projects in sweepstakes, transaction printing and the insurance industry.
Beginning in 2006 I phased out of software development to pave the way for my
move to China. Mindspear Technologies has been brought back to life as a consulting business for people interested in importing craft beers to China. I also
review documents for Chinese companies who are putting together presentations in English.

I haven been very fortunate in life and met some very successful people. I have had the pleasure of working in a variety of industries and learning those
business models. I am always interested in what people are doing. If you are living in Beijing and would like to get together for a dinner or drink just send
me a contact.